'Indian panchayat system promotes family values'

Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has appreciated the Indian panchayat system, which according to him holds families together

Port-of-Spain: Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has appreciated the Indian panchayat system as promoting family values.

A village Panchayat in Delhi. pic for representation only

Addressing the parliament on the occasion of 169th Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad and Tobago, the prime minister said, “The panchayat system held families and communities together to ensure that hard-worn and jealously protected system of moral values and ethics was never compromised.”

She said many challenges that we face today, can find solutions in the wisdom of our elders and ancestors, by traditions passed down.

“The East Indian population in Trinidad and Tobago has achieved much and has contributed immeasurably to national development over the past 169 years of life and history in various disciplines,” Persad-Bissessar said.

Trinidad President Anthony Carmona said the Indian diaspora in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean represents an unrivalled thrust in world culture, education and politics.

“Against a background of extreme adversities, our Indian brothers and sisters, have preserved and demonstrated that hard work, sacrifice and belief in God can trigger great rewards,” said Carmona.

The progressive response of Trinidad and Tobago diaspora meshing other cultures with their art, music, dance, cuisine and customs have provided a fundamental platform for us being regarded as a rainbow nation, the president added.

The East Indian diaspora was sourced from the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar between 1845 and 1917. They were brought here by the then colonial government to rescue the dying agricultural economy following the end of slavery by the British Parliament in 1834.